Composer of Peace Song dies

JERUSALEM — Israeli composer Yair Rosenblum, whose "Peace Song" was the anthem of the Nov. 4 Tel Aviv rally where Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was slain, has died in Holon after a two-year illness.

He was 52.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Rosenblum served as musical director of the Israel Defense Force chorus. In recent years, he worked with various bands and choral groups.

Rosenblum wrote more than 1,000 songs, including "Ammunition Hill," "In a Red Dress," "The Beautiful Life," "Tranquility," "Hallelujah" and "With What Will I Bless Him."

"Peace Song," or "Shir La'Shalom," which came out in 1970, was banned from being broadcast on Army Radio. At the Tel Aviv peace rally, Rabin and then-Foreign Minister Shimon Peres sang the song.

After Rabin was shot, a bloodstained copy of the lyrics was removed from his jacket pocket.

In 10 days, Rosenblum was to be honored by the Association of Musicians and Songwriters for his life's work.

He was to be buried Wednesday at Kibbutz Einat.

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